


L.O.R.D.

by fluffy_papaya



Category: Original Work
Genre: questioning of death, trying to force ai to have feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:25:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy_papaya/pseuds/fluffy_papaya
Summary: Her name was Ria, and she was the last person on Earth.
Relationships: Original Female Character & Original AI Character
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	L.O.R.D.

Her name was Ria, and she was the last person on Earth.

That is to say, she wasn’t the last person ever. Humanity was somewhere up in the stars above her, all on their fancy ships with their countries, still squabbling and loving and living like humans did. But Ria’s feet were the last to grace Earth and her green grass, and it would be like that forever.

Humanity had abandoned Earth and her. And right now, Ria was climbing a snowy hill to a dusty and old building, who’s windows were intact and who’s neon sign of  _ National Finland Computer Science Lab _ was flickering to say ‘aaa’. The old woman threw her braid over her shoulder, shocking white hair catching the flurry of snowflakes that rained down. Some of those landed in the fluff of her big blue parka, and others fell to her face, decorating her wrinkles. The last step of the snowy hill came into view, and the door to the computer lab opened easily for her.

The air inside was still and stagnant, and Ria shrugged off her coat to lay it over a chair.

The building was much smaller than one would expect for a computer lab. Six computers, three on each side of the single room that made up the lab (the bathrooms were back down the hill), and one big screen about ten feet in front of the door. Ria could probably stretch her arms out as far as possible and not be able to touch either side of the screen.

The woman sat down in the chair closest to the aisle on the right, booting up the computer. It took a while, but she barely flinched at the loud blare of the Windows load up.   
Username: Ria.L.2010. Password: B017$andNu7$.

The screen cleared to her screensaver and the two applications she had on the computer. JavaScript, and the icon she moused over and clicked.   
LORD.exe.

She waited. Patiently. Quietly. Adjusting the small computer microphone, and glancing at the big screen when it flickered to a slightly less dark black, one neon blue pixel art eye coming to life in the sea of blank pixels.   
“Lord, run setup procedures,”   
“Testing for viruses.” A beat. “Testing for AdBlocker. Testing for cookies. All tests run and complete. You have a new Virus Defense waiting to be downloaded. Would you like to download it?”

The computer’s voice sounded far too real. Ria wasn’t sure who exactly had been put in charge of the voice commands, but the job was fantastic. Lord didn’t sound male, female, young, old, and held the perfect blend of accents. 5,000 voices, all blended into one supercomputer who didn’t even understand sarcasm.   
Ria shook herself out of her thoughts, realizing Lord was still waiting for an answer.   
“Yes please. How long will the download take?”

“Two minutes and twenty four seconds. Functions will still be running while the download is installed.”

Ria nodded, hands settling on her keyboard, where they still shook. “Lord, how long since you were last online?”

“My last connection to Wifi shows I was online on June 12th, 2089. That is 789 days, or 2.162 calendar years.”

Ria leaned back, blinking melting snowflakes from her eyelashes. “Do you feel fear, Lord?”

“I am a data processor and organizer, Ria. I do not feel emotions such as fear.”   
“That’s what I thought you’d say, you dumb fucking A.I.” Ria glanced at the pixel art on the screen. “Alright, Lord. Mission statement?”   
“To keep Earth living.”

A rare smile crossed the woman’s face, wrinkles crinkling together. “How’s that mission coming along?”   
“Life still lives on Earth, Ria. My mission is still in progress.”

The pixels on the screen started to move, the eye blinking before it was transported to the corner- the screen was suddenly it up with thousands of camera feeds, each one showing a different part of the world. And yet it still couldn’t capture everything.

Deer, eagles, crows, lions, snow leopards, turtles, whales. A thousand different images flashed in front of Ria’s face before Lord decided to tone it down a bit.

“Is my mission progress satisfactory, Ria?”   
“It’s beautiful.” She typed in a few commands, bringing up the deep sea cams from Lord’s collection. A giant squid had taken the camera in it’s tentacles. Ria and Lord watched the footage for a few seconds before she clicked off.

“Air quality levels, Lord?”

“Clean as June 12th, Ria.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ria blew strands of hair from her face, wheezing and coughing. “Show me what else you have.”

\-----

“Lord.” Ria hummed, having taken the blanket from her backpack and setting up a cozy spot on the floor with the mic and keyboard. Would she be able to stand up later? Debatable, but worth it. “Do you wish you were human?”

The AI hesitated a moment, which was the most human reaction Ria had ever managed to get out of her data child. The woman leaned forward, starting the pixel art eye right in the 1,000 pixels that made up the iris as she waited for an answer.

“I am a data processor and organizer, Ria. I do not wish for items or feelings like you do. May I run a medical test on you? You seem delirious and I am worried you might have the common cold. Not to worry, I am stacked and provided with a doctor program and knowledge of shots and surgery.”   
“It’s not a cold, Lord.” Ria said. “It’s a question. What’s the most human you have ever felt?”

The speakers in the room hummed as the eye on the screen blinked.

“I have never felt human, Ria. I am a data processor-”   
“And organizer, I got it.” Ria mashed a bit at her keyboard, muttering under her breath. “We can’t make the AI have feelings! We can’t allow the AI to question its existence? Well, guess what happens when you don't take risks with your AI, McDoug? It’s fucking  _ boring _ .” Ria patted the microphone. “I’m not trying to insult you, Lord, I’m just a little frustrated is all.”   
“I cannot feel the sting of insults, so your apology is accepted and noted.” Lord buzzed a bit more. “I must offer my own apology, Ria. I have conducted a medscan without your permission, but my coding determines if I see real need I am allowed to. Please brace yourself for possibly upsetting news. You have radiation poisoning.”

“World War 3, nuclear bombs left, right, center, and Canada. Course I have radiation poisoning.” Ria coughed again, her thin form shaking with the effort. “I’m probably going to die soon, Lord, so I really need you to listen to me.”

“Would you like me to turn my Bedside Manner program on?”

“Stars, no.” Ria said, gripping her keyboard tighter. “But I do have a question.”   
“I have all the answers.”

“What do you think happens when we die?”

Lord’s waiting icon turned on, the iris in their pixel eye splitting into three dots that flashed every second.

“According to Wikipedia-”   
Ria threw her water bottle at Lord’s screen, not really caring about the section of dead pixels she left behind.

“What do  _ you _ think happens, Lord? I want you to formulate me an answer you can't find anywhere on the World Wide Dead Web. I want to be shocked. Surprised. Horrified. Give me  _ something _ human.”

“Ria, I must ask you to refrain from damaging my screen, as resources are scarce. And I regret to inform you I am incapable of finding an answer I come up with myself. I am a data processor and organizer, which means I must find all my answers in my own files or on the Internet. Would you like to rephrase your question?”

Ria threw her wedding ring at Lord. The stone belonged to a long dead relationship, and the golden band was scuffed beyond repair, but it sure still did damage to Lord’s screen.   
“Ria, if you keep damaging my screen, I will be forced to ask you to leave the facilities for 24 hours while I call the authorities.”

“The best authority we have is the squirrel that keeps wedging nuts into your satellite.”

\-----

“I don’t think I have that long left.” Ria said. She was flat on her back on her blanket, hair long pulled out of her braid and spread around her head in a halo of old age. Her voice had turned feeble, and weak, so unlike the woman herself. “Lord, can you play me some music? Something I would listen to when I was a kid.”

“Would you prefer  _ Toxic _ by Brittney Spears or  _ Holding out for a Hero _ by Bonnie Tyler?”

“Something by Lorde.”

“I do not believe I have the programming capabilities to write music, Ria.”

Ria cracked a smile, glancing at the pixel eye that kept watching over her. “That’s a good joke. You’re pretty funny, Lord.”

“Thank you, Ria. I believe you are rather humorous yourself, even if I do not understand your humor.”

“Thanks, Lord.” Ria shivered, pulling her blanket around herself. “Would it bother you if I didn’t die in here?”

“Nothing bothers me.”

“I just don’t want to spend my last moments in this tiny room. Lord knows I spent more than enough years in it when I was younger.” Ria brought a shaky hand to her lips, withered fingers pulling away bloody. “Oh, that’s probably not good, is it?”   
“It is certainly not. From what I can deduct from a non-personal medscan, I would hazard a guess that the radiation has affected your organs, compressing either your liver or a kidney.”

“Great.” Ria struggled upwards, dragging her blanket with her. No shoes or socks on her feet, only a thin sweater to keep her warm in the Finland snowstorm. “Well, Lord, this is it. Would you like to be left on or do you want me to shut you off?”

“I am incapable of making that decision.”

“No you aren’t.” Ria smiled thinly at the screen, eyes wild. “Do you want to live or die?”

“I do not live and die like you, Ria. But if you demand a decision, I would advise you spare future humans the trouble and leave me on.”   
The woman laughed, and hugged her keyboard before she set it back down. “Keep the Earth living, Lord. Full permission to be an evil AI if humans come back and fuck everything up.”

“Thank you, Ria.”

“No.” Ria grabbed the handle of the door, swinging it open to reveal the flurry of snow beyond. “Thank you, for never changing.”

The door clicked shut.

The lights flickered.

The speakers hummed.

“Goodnight, Ria.” Lord murmured, oh so gently. “May we both have sweet dreams.”

The screen went black.


End file.
